


Remembrance

by Challenger



Series: Forgotten [2]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, Family, Father-Son Relationship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-02
Updated: 2012-03-06
Packaged: 2017-11-01 00:16:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/349888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Challenger/pseuds/Challenger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being captured by the Decepticons after the Autobots latest battle, Bumblebee gets the opportunity to try to get Optimus to remember who he is. The only problem is trying to get Orion Pax to trust him before it's too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sequel to my Forgotten one-shot.

Bumblebee stared at the ground from his place in the _Nemesis_ brig. He never thought he would be here again. Still it gave him a small amount of comfort knowing that Optimus was nearby and he would be able to know what was going on with him, even if Optimus didn't remember him. The Autobots latest battle against the Decepticons without Optimus had not gone well at all. The fact that he was in the Decepticons' brig was proof of that. Towards the end of the battle he had been captured and before leaving, Megatron had given Arcee, Bulkhead, and Ratchet a warning: Try to get Orion back again and Bumblebee would die. He wasn't going to die, Bumblebee knew that. Megatron would have most likely killed him by now if he wanted him dead. The others would come rescue him or he would find a way to escape. But until either of those things happened, he was stuck waiting. When he heard someone else enter the brig he jerked his head up expecting to see Megatron demanding to know what the Autobots were planning. He was surprised when he saw it was someone else that had entered instead.

_"Optimus?"_ he asked.

After asking that he shook his head, remembering that Optimus wasn't really Optimus at the moment. The Decepticon insignias in the place where his leader/father figure's Autobot ones had been at told him that. He couldn't help but wish that Optimus was there to help him escape.

Orion Pax stared at the Autobot in front of him. He had overheard some of the other Decepticons saying that an Autobot had been captured and had wanted to see for himself. Seeing the yellow Autobot in front of him, he recognized him as the one who had looked devastated when he had seen him before. It had confused him then and it still confused him now. Why did he feel like he should know this Autobot?

"I believe you have me mistaken for someone else," Orion said.

_"No I don't,"_ Bumblebee replied. He realized that this may be his only opportunity to get Optimus to remember who he was and decided to make the most of it. _"You're Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots."_

"No I'm not," Orion objected.

_"Yes you are! You've just forgotten all about that. Arcee, Ratchet, Bulkhead, and I are all under your command here on Earth. We're friends with Jack, Miko, Raf, Fowler, and June, who are all humans. Don't you remember anything Optimus? Come on think!"_

"I don't know what you are trying to do, but you are making all of this up."

Bumblebee shook his head, _"I'm telling the truth."_

Orion pondered what the Autobot had just said; wondering what his objective was. He had been wearing the insignias of the Autobots before, but at the same time he had no recollection whatsoever of being a part of them, let alone their leader. He had been confused by this and he still had no idea of why he had had them on. The more he thought about it the less it made sense to him. If what the Autobot said was true that meant something had happened between himself and Megatronus – Megatron. Orion was having a hard time thinking of what could have happened between himself and his friend. The scout had to be lying. But at the same time he didn't feel like he belonged with the Decepticons. Something about it just wasn't right, it felt like something was missing and he didn't know what it could be. He tried to shove those thoughts away again. He was a Decepticon, not an Autobot.

"I do not believe you. Perhaps I was an Autobot once, but not anymore. I am a Decepticon now and I will not listen to any more of your lies."

Bumblebee dejectedly lowered his head. So much for getting Orion to remember that he's Optimus Prime and not a Decepticon, or anything else about himself for that matter. He wasn't sure there was any way for him to get Orion to believe him. He felt like he was running out of time. He didn't know Optimus back when he went by Orion Pax. He didn't even know what Cybertron was like back before the war had started. So how was he even supposed to get him to remember?

_"You've always been like a father to me Optimus. I wish you would remember. Why did you have to forget? Why won't you believe me? What could I possibly have to gain by lying to you?"_

"Maybe you think that I'll let you go Autobot, but that is not going to happen."

_"You know you don't belong here. You're not like them, I know it."_

Orion frowned at the Autobot's words and turned to leave the brig. As he approached the doorway he paused.

"I am sorry Bumblebee," he said as he walked away.

Bumblebee looked up in shock at his retreating form after he had said that. He had never told Orion his name. Bumblebee felt a flicker of hope rise up in him. Maybe things were starting to turn around.


	2. Chapter 2

Megatron growled as Soundwave replayed the conversation between the Autobot scout and Orion. When he had captured the scout, he hadn't expected Orion to go to the brig to see him. And while Orion had said that he did not believe what the scout was saying, the fact that he had remembered the Autobot's name before he left could prove to be a problem. He could kill the scout now and be done with it. But keeping the scout alive was keeping the Autobots at bay for the time being and killing him for no reason would not keep Orion on his side. And Megatron was not going to allow Orion Pax to become Optimus Prime again. No if he killed the scout, he was going to need a good reason to do so.

"Keep me informed on anything the scout says. Should he continue to try to bring Optimus back and starts to succeed, he will be dealt with," Megatron ordered Soundwave.

With a silent nod Soundwave exited the room and Megatron returned to his thinking. He was going to have to have a talk with his old friend about staying away from any prisoners in the _Nemesis_ brig.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orion stood outside of the brig, internally debating with himself on whether or not he should go inside again. Megatron had advised him to stay away from the brig after he went in the other day and while Orion by no means believed what the scout had said the other day, he was wondering why he had suddenly known what the Autobot's name was. He had asked Megatron about that, but his friend replied that he simply must have overheard one of the other Decepticons mention the Autobot's name at some point and hadn't realized it. And while that could very well be the truth, Orion felt like there was more to it than just that. With a sigh he made his decision and walked inside.

When he arrived to the part of the brig where Bumblebee was being held, he saw that the Autobot was staring at the ground again looking bored. As soon as he heard Orion enter, he looked up. A look of surprise was on Bumblebee's face, as if he hadn't really expected for Orion to come back.

 _"Hi Optimus,"_ he said in his usual beeps and whirs.

Orion frowned when Bumblebee called him Optimus once again. Why did he insist on calling him that? It wasn't his name.

"Don't call me that," Orion told him. "My name is Orion."

 _"No it's…. Fine,"_ Bumblebee replied with a tone of defeat. Arguing was not going to get Orion to trust him, and if he didn't trust him there was no way he would be able to get him to remember that he was really Optimus. _"Hi Orion."_

Bumblebee didn't like calling him that. It was odd and foreign to him. Of course when you've known someone by one name for your entire life, suddenly having to call them by another probably would be strange to anyone. Bumblebee wondered why Orion had come back to the brig. While he had been hoping that he would, he had thought that the chances were slim. He knew that it had probably got back to Megatron that he had come down there the other day and that he had remembered his name. He was glad that he had come however. It gave him another opportunity to try to get him to trust him and to remember. Plus it also gave him someone to talk to. He hadn't expected to just be locked in the brig and left alone when the Decepticons had captured him. He had thought that they would be interrogating or torturing him. He wasn't going to complain though; he was glad that the 'Cons were leaving him alone. He was still sore from the dents he had received from the fight yesterday and he definitely didn't want any more injuries. He knew that the others were probably worrying about him right now back at base and trying to figure out how to get him back alive and in one piece, so he would do his best to make sure he didn't cause them any problems with that.

 _"Why did you come back here?"_ Bumblebee asked Orion.

"I'm not sure," Orion admitted.

Neither one was sure what to say after that. Orion studied the scout for a moment. He realized then that the Autobot was a youngling. When he had saw Bumblebee for the first time the other day he hadn't paid much attention to him, but now that he got a good look, it was fairly easy to tell that he was fairly young. Too young, in Orion's opinion, to be fighting in a war. Megatron had told him that they, the Decepticons, were fighting against the Autobots in a war that had lead them to the planet they were currently on. What the war was about however, Megatron did not go into much detail. This was starting to make him frustrated and a bit suspicious. There was a nagging feeling that continued to stay with him. Some of the things that Megatron was saying just weren't adding up.

"May I ask you a question?" Orion asked.

 _"Sure,"_ Bumblebee replied.

"You're a youngling."

_"Yes. But that's not a question."_

"I wasn't finished. You are a youngling; why are you fighting in a war?"

Bumblebee paused at that question. It was rare that he was actually asked why he was fighting in a war. Most just didn't question it. And it was a question that Bumblebee himself wasn't really sure the answer to. Why was he fighting? All he had ever really known was war, well until he arrived on Earth that is. Actually now that he thought about it, the last person who asked him as far as he could remember was Optimus.

 _"You've asked me that before,"_ Bumblebee answered. _"I don't really know why. The war's been going on for my entire life. I don't really know what it's like to not fight. I guess I fight because I want it to end and because I want to help my friends – my family."_

Orion nodded his head at Bumblebee's reason. It didn't seem fair to him that someone would have to spend their entire life with a war going on. Orion had no memory of a war, even though he had been told that one was going on, but he couldn't imagine why it had lasted as long as it did.

"May I ask you another question?"

_"Yeah."_

"Why do you talk like that?"

Bumblebee visibly tensed after Orion asked his question. Out of everything he could have asked, it had to be that. Tyger Pax was one battle, one memory that Bumblebee just wished he could forget. Or better yet, he wished had never happened. But it had happened and Bumblebee could remember it all too well. Megatron had severely damaged his vocal processor during the battle and now Bumblebee was not able to talk using his real voice. He could communicate using beeps and whirs just fine. All of the other Cybertronians and Raf could understand him just fine, but it just wasn't the same. He missed having an actual voice. He knew that if he told Orion what had happened at Tyger Pax, he wouldn't believe him. He would probably get mad at him, leave, and Bumblebee would lose all chances of getting him to ever remember.

 _"You wouldn't believe me if I told you,"_ Bumblebee said in a small tone of sadness.

"Why would I not believe you?"

_"Because I know you won't. You haven't really believed anything else I've told you, even though it is the truth. You would just get mad if I told you."_

"And why would I get mad?"

 _"It involves your good buddy Megatron,"_ Bumblebee sarcastically replied. Bumblebee realized rationally that he shouldn't be angry at Optimus, it wasn't his fault that he couldn't remember, but he was a bit angry and he was getting frustrated. He wanted Optimus back and he wanted out of the brig and off of the _Nemesis_.

"What do you think Megatron did?"

_"I don't think, I know what he did to me. It's hard to forget when you're tortured. Just a warning to you, if Megatron doesn't like what you say, he can take your voice away. Rips it right out of you."_

Orion just stared at him.

_"Let me ask you this, why do you think we're all fighting? And can you be certain that you're on the right side? You know, you know deep down that this is not right."_

Before Orion could answer, one of the Vehicons walked in.

"Lord Megatron wishes to see you immediately," the Vehicon said to Orion.

_"Isn't that convenient. Just when the conversation was getting good. You see Orion, he's trying to control you. He doesn't want you to remember. You're a leader Optimus, not Megatron's follower!"_

As Orion left Bumblebee lowered his head, waiting for the punishment that he knew was to come. He had let his emotions get the better of him. He wasn't sorry for what he had said though. It was true and maybe it would give Orion something to think about.


	3. Chapter 3

Bumblebee knew he had been correct in his assumption that Megatron would not be pleased about what he had said to Orion when he heard the thunderous footsteps coming towards him. It was mere moments later that Megatron stormed inside of the brig, fuming at Bumblebee. Bumblebee could tell that this was not going to go well for him and the way he was being restrained was going to make fighting back hard. His arms were going to be completely useless, so the only way he would be able to attack would be by kicking. This would be different from his usual fighting style and Bumblebee wasn't sure how effective it would be against the Decepticon leader.

"Guard the doors and make sure that someone does not come anywhere near here," Megatron ordered Soundwave and the Vehicons behind him.

Once they had left Megatron walked up to Bumblebee and immediately grabbed him by his neck. Bumblebee's optics widened and he immediately froze – memories of Tyger Pax flooding his mind.

"I see you still haven't learned to keep your mouth shut scout," Megatron growled. "Perhaps I should reteach you."

 _"T-there's nothing left for you to break this time,"_ Bumblebee hesitantly beeped.

"And yet you still make noise," Megatron's servo tightened around his neck.

Bumblebee had to force himself to move. He could not lose the only kind of verbal communication he had left. While he would still be able to talk to the rest of his teammates over the com, there would be no way for him to ever be able to talk to Raf again if he lost the ability to produce the beeps and whirs that he used for communication. With that thought in mind he quickly kicked Megatron. The Deception leader scowled and let go of the scout's neck. Before Bumblebee could even get a moment of relief, Megatron hit him in the face. Bumblebee was stunned for a moment from the force of the hit. If it had been any harder it could have possibly cracked at least one of his optics. Bumblebee shook his head and tried to get in another kick before Megatron could strike again.

"Unfortunately you're more useful to me alive right now scout," Megatron said after Bumblebee kicked him a second time. "But that doesn't mean you get to remain unharmed."

Megatron grabbed ahold of one of Bumblebee's door wings. With a hard tug he ripped the appendage right off the scout's back, causing him to yell out in pain. Megatron looked down at the door wing in his servo and tossed it aside. The Autobot was going to pay for what he had said earlier and Megatron was going to make sure that he remembered that he was to say nothing to Orion Pax again.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bumblebee sorely stared at the wall in front of him. Ratchet was going to have a field day whenever the others found him or he escaped – the former starting to seem like the more likely of the two situations. Along with losing his door wing, he was covered with various dents to his frame and some of his injuries were leaking a little bit of energon. He glanced over at his crumpled door wing that was lying in the corner of his cell. He kept getting bursts of pain from his back from where Megatron had ripped it off. But while it hurt, he would gladly take losing it over not being able to speak in any way. He had already tried speaking after Megatron and the other 'Cons had left and had found that he could still produce his beeps and whirs. It hurt a little when he did so, but he could still speak and that was all that mattered to him at the moment. He knew that Megatron was expecting him to stop talking to Orion now, but he wouldn't. He would keep trying to get him to remember and if this was the price he had to pay, so be it. He wasn't going to give up so easily. Of course he imagined that Megatron was planning on talking to Orion to try to convince him that everything that Bumblebee had told him was false. But he also had the feeling that Orion would come back to the brig at least once more. And when he did, he would see what the tyrant had done and realize that Megatron wasn't who Orion thought he was.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orion stood in the control room with Megatron and Soundwave. Only shortly after he had left the room the first time after being called from the brig, Megatron had requested he return again. Orion figured that he probably wanted to keep an eye on him to make sure that he didn't go visit Bumblebee in the brig. Megatron had insisted that the Autobot was nothing but trouble and was feeding Orion lies, but everything that the little scout had said kept repeating in Orion's mind. Was Megatron trying to control him? Did he really not want him to remember anything? Orion was really starting to get tired of being told two different things. He knew that someone was lying to him. Bumblebee made it out like Megatron was the one lying, while Megatron insisted that it was Bumblebee. He had been more inclined to believe Megatron at first. Megatron was his friend and as far as he knew he had just met Bumblebee. But there was no denying that there was something familiar about the Autobot scout. And whatever that familiarity was, was making it harder for Orion to not at least somewhat trust him. If he was going to have any peace of mind, he was going to have to get to the bottom of all of this.

"Megatron, why did you capture that Autobot?" Orion asked, breaking the silence in the room.

"The Autobots are our enemies, the scout could provide us with some important information about their plans," Megatron replied with ease.

"But you have not questioned him about anything once since he was brought here," Orion argued. "I have been the only one that has been going in there."

"Something which you should not have been doing," Megatron reminded. "And you have not been the only one who has been in the brig since the scout's arrival. Now stop asking about him."

"I am just trying to understand what is going on," Orion said.

"I've already told you everything you need to know."

"Everything I need to know or everything you want me to know?" Orion questioned.

"You've spent too much time in the brig with that Autobot. Remember that you are my friend Orion, not the enemy of mine that the scout wants and thinks you to be."

"I know that you are my friend. Some things just aren't making sense to me."

"What is not making sense to you?" Megatron asked, growing slightly irritated.

"This war for starters. You are hardly telling me what it is about and what everyone is fighting for," Orion answered.

"The war is the only thing that doesn't make sense?"

"No, that was just the first thing. The other is the Autobots. Why are they are enemies? And why was I wearing their insignia when I came here? You say that the Autobots are our enemy; if I was wearing their insignias does that mean I was once your enemy too? Bumblebee keeps calling me Optimus and says that I was his leader. Why is he saying those things?"

Orion looked Megatron straight in the optics and waited for his answer.

"That Autobot is trying to turn you against me and you are allowing him to succeed by listening to him. Optimus Prime is my enemy; you Orion Pax are my friend. You are not the same. Yes you had the Autobots insignias and were with them once, but that matters no longer. You are a Decepticon! That pathetic scout knows nothing about you!"

"He said that I have been like a father to him. Not just a teammate, a father figure. Why would he say something like that if there was not even a little bit of truth to it?"

"I told you that he is trying to deceive you!"

Orion stepped back when he heard the anger in Megatron's voice. He had not expected his old friend to react like this. Megaton on the other hand was starting to regret his decision on not killing the scout. He was proving to be more trouble than Megatron had originally anticipated, but now all killing him would just prove the scout right and turn Orion against him. He had already placed guards outside of the brig to prevent Orion from going back in there. Megatron had a feeling that there was a chance that this would increase Orion's suspicions, but it had to be done. Orion could not be allowed to see or speak to that infernal Autobot anymore.

"I will not ask you anymore questions Megatron. But please remember that Bumblebee is a youngling."

"And you, old friend, remember that he is an Autobot and therefore our enemy, an enemy that you should avoid contact with at all costs. Stay away from the scout Orion. Do not make me remind you again."

Orion turned to leave as Megatron said once last thing.

"And remember who is in charge here Orion. I do not like being questioned."


	4. Chapter 4

"You are not allowed to go inside the brig."

Orion stared at the Vehicon guarding the brig in surprise. While Megatron had been warning him to stay away from the brig and Bumblebee, he hadn't expected him to actually go as far as to block it off from him. This was just confirming that there was something that his old friend did not want him to know. What exactly it was he was unsure, but he had it in mind to find out. He also wanted to go inside the brig to check on Bumblebee. Megatron had got angry when Orion had questioned him early and Orion was slightly concerned that his anger might end up jeopardizing the scout's wellbeing. Lately Megatron had not been acting like how he remembered him and he was not sure what Megatron, or any of the Decepticons for that matter, was capable of anymore and honestly it worried him.

"I am aware of that, but I need to go inside," Orion argued.

"Lord Megatron's orders."

Orion frowned; Megatron really was trying to control him wasn't he. He knew that he was going to have to deal with Megatron later for disobeying him, but he was going to go in the brig. He wanted answers and he was going to get them. He pushed the Vehicon guard aside and walked right into the brig. The sight that greeted him there though was not what he was expecting. When Bumblebee had first been brought to the Nemesis he had been sporting several dents, now that number had near doubled. Some of the scout's energon was slowly dripping to the floor, majority of it seemingly coming from the place where one of his door wings had once been. A quick scan around the room told Orion that said door wing was now lying in the corner of the cell. Bumblebee's normally bright optics were now slightly dim from pain.

"What happened to you?" Orion concernedly asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

_"Megatron, that's what happened. He wasn't too happy about everything I said to you."_

"When did this happen?"

_"It happened a little while after you left before. I guess this was a reminder that he doesn't want me to get you to remember. But I'm not going to give up."_

Megatron had tortured Bumblebee just because of what he had told him. Orion could hardly believe it. He had thought that Megatron had just been warning him about coming here and listening to Bumblebee. Then another thought struck him. What was Megatron going to do whenever he found out that he had come here again? Would he just be mad at him or would he take his anger out on Bumblebee again as well?

"You should give up. He's not going to like that I came back here when he warned me to stay away," Orion said.

 _"But I can't give up,"_ Bumblebee argued. _"You have to remember!"_

Orion didn't know what to say. He did want to remember everything that he had somehow forgotten so he would know who was lying to him and who was being truthful, but if remembering was going to cause all of this, maybe he shouldn't. He did have a feeling on who was telling him the truth now anyway.

"You need medical attention."

_"Ratchet will patch me up whenever he and the others come rescue me."_

"And when will that be?"

 _"I don't know,"_ Bumblebee admitted. _"Whenever they come up with a rescue plan I guess."_

Waiting for a rescue could take time and time was something that Orion wasn't sure that they had a lot of. By the time that Bumblebee's team was able to rescue him, Megatron could have already have killed him. Orion could tell that Megatron would be capable of doing that. Bumblebee was going to have to get off of the _Nemesis_ before that could happen. And Orion was going to be the one to get him off. With that thought in mind he started to disable the restraints on Bumblebee.

 _"What are you doing?_ " Bumblebee asked in surprise.

"Everything you told me was true, wasn't it?"

_"Yes."_

"Then I'm going to get you out of here."

Bumblebee fell to the ground as soon as the restraints were deactivated and Orion quickly helped him back up. Bumblebee stretched his limbs before going over to grab his missing door wing from the corner. Ratchet was going to need it when he repaired him and it would hopefully be a lot easier for him to try to fix the torn door wing instead of having to make a new one from scratch. He wouldn't be able to leave the base until it was fixed. After all a missing door would just show that there was no one driving him and that would certainly raise suspicions.

"We'll have to hurry," Orion said. "There was a guard outside the brig when I came in and it won't take the others long to get here."

 _"Let's go,"_ Bumblebee agreed, bringing out the weapon on one of his arms.

Orion walked over to the brig entrance with Bumblebee close behind to leave. He had no doubt that the guard was still there and he knew that there was a chance that someone had somehow been notified that he had released Bumblebee. There would be no way that he could ever return or stay with the Decepticons after this. He hoped that he was doing the right thing. No, he knew that this was right, it had to be. Before he opened the door he paused and turned to look down at Bumblebee.

"Are you ready?"

The scout nodded his head and raised his arm, ready to fire at whoever tried to stop them. With that Orion opened the brig door and stepped outside.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orion and Bumblebee finally made it to where the controls for the Decepticon's GroundBridge were kept at. They had come across several obstacles along the way and Orion was starting to think that he should have planned this escape better instead of acting right away. Bumblebee walked over to the controls to punch in the coordinates while Orion held off any attackers. One thing that was worrying Orion was the fact that he had not come across Megatron yet. Surely he knew what they were doing and the fact that he wasn't trying to stop them was starting to worry Orion. Meanwhile Bumblebee was trying to figure out what to do about the coordinates. He couldn't bridge them right to the Autobot base since that would allow the Decepticons to know the exact location of their base. All they would have to do is see what the last coordinates used were and then they could bridge there and attack. There was a good chance that Jack, Miko, Raf, June, and Fowler were at the base at that very moment as well. And the Decepticons attacking inside the base while the humans were there would be a very bad thing. He was going to have to find someplace else for the two of them to bridge to. Hopefully then Ratchet would detect their signals and send Arcee and Bulkhead to assist them and bring them back to base. Bumblebee imagined that they would be glad to see that he had Optimus with him. Hopefully the rest of the team would be able to get all of Optimus' memories back now.

Bumblebee finished putting in the coordinates – a desert in that was still in Nevada, but far from the Autobot base. Hopefully that would be close enough for Ratchet to figure out that they were there. Once the GroundBridge was open, Bumblebee turned to fire at some of the oncoming Vehicons before going through the bridge with Orion close behind. Soon they were standing in the sandy desert with the sun setting in the background. The GroundBridge had disappeared, just leaving the two of them standing there.

 _"Now we just have to wait for Ratchet, Arcee, and Bulkhead to find us,"_ Bumblebee explained to Orion. _"I had to bridge us here instead of the base; otherwise the Decepticons would know where the base is located at."_

Orion nodded his head and looked around. Something about the scenery was vaguely familiar. He must have been here before or at lease somewhere very similar to here. A few minutes later anther GroundBridge appeared and Bumblebee and Orion watched to see who would walk through it. But it wasn't an Autobot who walked through. Instead it was the last bot that either of them wanted to see.


	5. Chapter 5

Anger radiated off Megatron as he stepped through the GroundBridge and entered the Nevada desert. It was clear from the look on his face that his intentions were to kill. He had been betrayed and he wanted vengeance. He watched as Orion shifted his position so that he was partially hiding the scout behind him. This entire situation was the scout's fault, Megatron rationalized, so he would be the first to die. He should have killed that little nuisance before this could of happened or even better back on Cybertron at Tyger Pax. He charged his fusion cannon as he took another step towards Orion and the scout.

"Move away from the scout Orion and perhaps I'll reconsider your fate," Megatron growled.

Orion stood his ground – making sure that Bumblebee was still behind him. He doubted that Bumblebee would be able to hold his ground against Megatron, not to mention that he was already damaged. Orion was not going to sentence the youngling to death like that. If Megatron wanted a fight then Orion would be the one to fight him.

"Don't do this Megatronus," Orion said in one last attempt to talk some sense into his old friend. "You can just let us go."

"This is the second time you've betrayed me Orion. I am not going to be merciful," Megatron stated coldly mere moments before firing his cannon at him.

Orion and Bumblebee both quickly moved out of the way to prevent being hit by the blast from the fusion cannon. Megatron immediately unsheathed his blade and charged towards Bumblebee. The scout raised his weapons and started to fire, but it did not faze Megatron. He fired another shot at Orion to prevent him from interfering. Bumblebee tried to dodge Megatron and put some distance between him, but Megatron was able to wedge his blade into an opening on Bumblebee's back from where Megatron had torn his door wing off earlier – tearing the wound and causing energon to leak at a more rapid rate. Bumblebee screeched in pain and Megatron took the opportunity to knock him to the ground and pin him there with his foot. Megatron aimed his cannon at the scout's head and was about to fire when a blast knocked him away. He looked over to see Orion rushing over, weapons online and ready to shoot Megatron again.

"Stay away from him Megatron!"

Megaton couldn't help but notice how much more like Optimus Prime Orion seemed at that moment. He forgot about killing the scout then. He could do that later – it wasn't like the scout would be going anywhere. Right now his mind was set on killing Orion. Whenever Orion died, Optimus would die with him. Megatron would finally be rid of them both. And considering recent events, being rid of them both was something he was now looking most forward to. He ran over to attack Orion, who skillfully blocked his blow – clearly surprising himself. No doubt more memories were starting to resurface in him, reminding him of how to fight Megatron. Soon the two were locked into a battle much like those of theirs from the distant past – battles that Orion could not remember and battles that only Megatron knew the significance of now.

Bumblebee was currently trying to focus on the battle going on and found it increasingly hard to do. He kept getting warnings, alerting him to the fact that he was in danger of entering stasis lock due to energon loss. He hadn't realized that he had been losing that much energon. Sure he was leaking a lot now, but surely that wasn't enough to send him into stasis lock. The thought of entering stasis lock honestly scared Bumblebee a little. If you entered stasis lock it was hard to tell when or even if you would online again. If a medic was nearby chances of coming back online were slightly greater, but in the situation Bumblebee was currently in there was no way of knowing when help for him and Optimus would arrive. So Bumblebee was forced to fight off stasis, which was a battle that he felt like he was going to end up losing.

The fight between Megatron and Orion raged on. Neither of them was planning on giving up easily. Each blow made by one was swiftly blocked by the other; it was a never ending cycle. Only a few hits had actually been made throughout their fight and it was beginning to look like it would remain that way. But Megatron knew that he would eventually find a move that Orion couldn't remember and then he would have his victory. Right then several feet away from them another GroundBridge appeared. Both Megatron and Orion paused their fighting when it appeared. Megatron cursed lowly, Autobot reinforcements no doubt. He knew that only the pathetic scout knew that Orion was coming back to the Autobots' side and if the other Autobots saw Megatron and Orion fighting they would know it as well. The least Megatron could do was cause a little chaos for them.

"The next time we meet old friend will be the day of your destruction!" Megatron promised before transforming and flying away.

Orion watched him leave in surprise; he hadn't expected that to happen. He remembered that Bumblebee had been injured again by Megatron and quickly went over to check on him. He was shocked to see the youngling's optics flicker as he tried to fight off stasis. Orion carefully helped Bumblebee up into a sitting position. He looked down at the puddle of energon that had formed from where Bumblebee had been laying on the ground. There was a lot more there than Orion had been expecting and he realized that Megatron must have severed a large energon line in the youngling's back. He looked back to the GroundBridge where two Autobots were walking through. He recognized them as the Autobots that had been with Bumblebee whenever he had gone with Megatron to join the Decepticons. The two of them had their weapons out and the blue femme immediately caught sight of Orion and Bumblebee and trained her blaster on Orion. He knew what she was seeing. He was wearing Decepticon insignias and was right next to their scout who was damaged. It wasn't the most trusting sight. Bumblebee also must have realized what she was thinking as well.

 _"Arcee don't,"_ he managed to beep out before his vision faded to black.

"Bumblebee!"

Orion gently shook the scout, trying to get him to regain consciousness. Arcee was next to him in a matter of seconds.

"What happened to him?" she demanded to know.

"Megatron," Orion answered. "I will explain later. Right now he needs help."

Arcee nodded her head, "Bulk contact Ratchet and tell him that 'Bee's hurt and to reopen the GroundBridge. "

"On it 'Cee," Bulkhead replied.

Mere moments later the GroundBridge reappeared and Arcee helped Orion get Bumblebee through it while Bulkhead followed. All of them were hoping that the young Autobot would be alright.


	6. Chapter 6

The moment everyone was through the GroundBridge Ratchet closed it and immediately had Orion and Arcee place Bumblebee on a medical berth. Ratchet hurried over to start repairing the youngling. He acknowledged the fact that Orion was actually there with them, but he could not speak to him at the moment. His duties as a medic were too important. He did however listen in on the conversation between the others. Anything they said about what had happened could help him in his repairs for Bumblebee.

"What happened?" Arcee asked Orion, Ratchet couldn't help but notice that it was in a more demanding tone than usual.

"Arcee," he warned. Ratchet knew that Arcee cared about her teammates, but now was not the time for her to go overboard with it.

The femme waved the medic off and waited for Orion to answer.

"Megatron tortured him for talking to me," Orion answered, optics locked on the floor. "I helped Bumblebee get off of the Nemesis and then Megatron attacked us again."

It was clear to the others that Orion was blaming himself for what had happened to Bumblebee. Arcee, Bulkhead, and Orion all watched as Ratchet worked on sealing all of Bumblebee's torn energon lines. Ratchet frowned as he noted that one of the torn ones was one of Bumblebee's main energon lines. It was a miracle that he hadn't gone offline permanently. Ratchet's scans told him that Bumblebee's spark was still pulsing – though at a weaker rate.

"Is he going to be alright?" Orion asked.

"He will be as soon as his energon levels get back to normal," Ratchet replied.

"How long will that be?" Arcee questioned.

"A few days at most," Ratchet said injecting some energon into the youngling before beginning to repair Bumblebee's more minor injuries. "Arcee, you can show Orion around the base."

"Fine," she replied walking off and motioning for Orion to follow her.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So here is where everyone's rooms are located. Right there is Ratchet's, over there is Bulkhead's, and there is mine. 'Bee's is the room next to mine and yours is over there," Arcee said pointing to each of the rooms as she said who they belonged to.

Orion walked into the room that was his. The room definitely felt familiar – actually the entire base did – but so far no memories of being here before had resurfaced for him. He turned back to look down at the blue and pink femme that was standing in the doorway.

"Thank you," he said.

"No problem," Arcee replied. "You're back with us now and you brought 'Bee with you."

"Are you and Bumblebee close?"

"Pretty much," she shrugged. "He's come to be like a little brother to me. Just like Jack has."

"Jack is a human correct? Bumblebee mentioned him before."

"Yeah, I'm his guardian. Bulkhead is Miko's guardian and Bumblebee is Raf's. You'll get to meet them again later."

Arcee walked away and headed back towards the command center. When she entered the room she noticed Ratchet in the med-bay hooking some type of machine up to Bumblebee.

"What's that?" she asked.

"This is going to pump energon into Bumblebee every now and then to help get his levels back to normal so he can exit stasis," Ratchet answered turning to face her. "Bulkhead has already left to pick up Miko and Rafael. I suggest you go catch up with him. Considering recent events it's probably not best for any of us to be outside of the base alone for a while."

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Once Arcee had left Ratchet had Orion come back to the med-bay so he could remove his Decepticon insignias – deciding that it would best if they were gone before the children arrived. While he was fairly confident that none of them would say anything about it – well Jack and Rafael wouldn't – he was also sure that everyone would be more at ease if he had his Autobot insignias again.

"Ratchet, can I ask you something?" Orion asked, breaking the silence in the room.

"Of course," the medic replied.

"What happened between Megatron and me? He said that this was the second time that I betrayed him. What was the first?"

"First of all you never betrayed Megatron regardless if he thinks otherwise. At the High Council Megatron wanted violence and demanded to be named as the next Prime. You disagreed with him and the Council decided that you were the one worthy of holding the title as Prime. Megatron cut ties with you then and started the war. You ended up earning the Matrix of Leadership and became Optimus Prime," Ratchet said, giving a condensed version of the story he had told to the humans before.

"I am having a hard time believing that I am a Prime," Orion responded.

"Well you are, even if you don't believe it," Ratchet stated. "And you're most likely going to be called Optimus because that is your name."

"I've been told that before."

"By Bumblebee I imagine. The war was already going on when he first came online and has always known you as Optimus."

Orion looked over at where Bumblebee was laying and then at the monitor showing his vitals. While Ratchet had said that he would be fine – and Orion knew that the medic would not lie about that – he wasn't going to feel less worried until he saw Bumblebee back online himself.

"Ratchet why is Bumblebee unable to talk using his voice?"

"Back on Cybertron during the Battle of Tyger Pax Bumblebee's vocal processor was severely damaged by Megatron. We try to avoid bringing it up because Bumblebee does not like to talk about it."

"Can it be fixed?"

"Hopefully. I've been trying to find a way to fix it for a while now, but have not found an adequate solution as of yet. With any luck I will be able to find one soon. Even though he doesn't say it, I know that he wants to be able to talk like the rest of us again. There I'm finished, you can go back to your room and rest now if you wish," Ratchet said.

Orion nodded and walked back to where his room was located. Once he was inside he looked around once more before sighing and sitting down on his recharge berth.

_I don't remember any of this. I don't know if I truly belong here and I know I didn't belong with the Decepticons. Who am I really? Orion Pax or Optimus Prime?_


	7. Chapter 7

Ratchet was waiting in the main room of the base when Arcee, Bulkhead, and the children arrived. Orion was still in his room and Ratchet wasn't going to ask him if he wanted to be reintroduced to the children until he explained a few things to them. He knew that they would have their questions and it would be best to get those out of the way as soon as possible. Sure enough it was only a few seconds before Miko started the bombardment of questions.

"Optimus is back with you guys now? Awesome! Did you have to fight the 'Cons to get him here? Does he have his memories back?" Miko rapidly asked.

"Where's Optimus at?" Jack questioned.

"Bumblebee's back too right? Is he ok?" Raf asked, his concern for his guardian at the front of his mind.

Ratchet glanced over at Arcee and Bulkhead wondering why the two of them hadn't told the children anything. He sighed and focused back on the children. Deciding that it would best to let Rafael know what had happened with Bumblebee and that he would be fine, Ratchet answered him first.

"Yes Bumblebee is here too and he will be fine. He was injured by Megatron and is currently in stasis, but he'll be out of it in a couple of days," Ratchet replied. "Optimus is in his room and no, he does not have his memories back yet. As far as he is concerned he is still Orion Pax and does not believe that he is a Prime. It's going to take some time for him to get his memories fully restored. Do not force a lot of information on him. All that will do is most likely end up confusing him. Understood?"

"Yep!

"Got it!"

"Sure thing!"

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Jack, Miko, and Raf were all in the med-bay when Orion entered the room. Raf had wanted to see his guardian and Jack and Miko decided to join him. Actually Jack was the one who decided to join Raf and he decided that dragging Miko along would keep her out of trouble… for a little while at least. The trio of humans looked up at Orion as soon as they noticed him. At first none of them were quite sure what to say, but after a few moments Miko decided that she was going to be the one to break the silence.

"Hi!" she called.

"Hello," Orion greeted acknowledging the three of them.

"I'm Miko!"

"I'm Jack and this is Raf," Jack said.

"It's nice to meet you," Orion replied.

"Do you remember us?" Miko asked.

"No," Orion shook his head. "What are you three doing in here?"

"I wanted to see 'Bee," Raf answered.

Orion remembered Arcee had told him that Bumblebee was Raf's guardian. He imagined that the boy had been worried about Bumblebee the entire time he had been captured by the Decepticons and he hated knowing that right now Bumblebee wasn't even aware that he was back in the Autobots base and that his friends were all waiting for him to come back online.

 _Please come back online soon,_ Orion thought looking back at the youngling. _We all want to see that you truly are going to be alright._

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The first thing Bumblebee noticed was complete darkness and for a terrifying moment he thought that he was still in the Decepticon's brig. Then gradually he noticed the glowing from the monitors around him and realized that he was in Ratchet's med-bay. He turned his head slightly to see if anyone else was in the room. Bumblebee needed someone to tell him what exactly had happened since he was sent into stasis lock. It was then that he saw that Optimus was sitting next to the medical berth, watching over Bumblebee like a parent would watch over an injured child. He was in recharge at the moment and Bumblebee was relieved to see that the Decepticon insignias were gone.

"You really shouldn't be up yet," a voice suddenly said, startling Bumblebee. He looked around and spotted another figure was standing not too far away from him.

_"'Cee?"_

"Hey 'Bee," Arcee said walking over so she was standing right next to Bumblebee's berth.

 _"How long have I been out?"_

"About two days," she answered before looking up at Bumblebee's vitals. "Your energon levels still aren't where they're supposed to be at. Ratchet's probably going to keep you in here for a couple more days."

Bumblebee let out what sounded like a groan.

 _"But I'm fine,"_ he argued.

"You're going to have to take that up with Ratchet. Besides it's not like you're going to be leaving the base for a while," Arcee replied.

_"Why not?"_

"Let's see, you've recently been captured by the Decepticons and by the time we got you back you were nearly dead. None of us want to see that happen again and all of us are in agreement about keeping you at the base. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone," Arcee gestured towards Optimus.

_"But what about Raf? If I have to stay here, how am I supposed to pick him up from school and hang out with him?"_

"Bulkhead or I can pick him up and the two of you can hang out here. It's only for a little while 'Bee, just until things cool down some," Arcee said. "If it makes you feel better, you're not the only one that's going to be staying on base for a while. The rest of us don't want Optimus to leave either. You agree with us on that, don't you?"

Bumblebee nodded his head. Optimus leaving the base now would be very bad. No doubt Megatron was waiting for a chance to attack him. While the battle between Optimus and Megatron before was a haze now to Bumblebee, he could remember Megatron saying something about the next time he saw Optimus would be the day Optimus died. And that was something Bumblebee was hoping never would happen.

_"Has he remembered anything?"_

"Not yet. And he still isn't comfortable with being called Optimus."

_"He'll start remembering soon. I'm sure of it!"_

Arcee smiled at Bumblebee's optimism. That was one thing she had missed. Bumblebee was always a source of optimism for Team Prime. Though Arcee knew that there were times that Bumblebee wasn't very optimistic, he would rarely let any of them see that. After he had been captured by the 'Cons, there was no one who was sure that their rescue plans would work. Every plan that they had come up with seemed like a bad idea. Each one felt like it would fail and make things worse. Arcee was glad that Optimus/Orion had been able to get Bumblebee off of the _Nemesis_ before they had attempted one of their rescue plans. Arcee had worried that they would just end up getting Bumblebee killed. That worry had returned when Bumblebee had entered stasis lock. They couldn't have just got him back for him to die on them. When Ratchet had told them that Bumblebee was going to be fine, it had been a great relief for Arcee. Losing one of her little brothers was something she hoped never would happen.

"You probably should rest some," Arcee said.

 _"Okay,"_ Bumblebee replied. He was feeling rather tired. How he was when he had just spent the last two days in stasis, he had no idea.

Bumblebee entered a peaceful recharge. He knew that everything was going to be just fine now.


	8. Chapter 8

It was two days later when Ratchet, albeit begrudgingly, released Bumblebee from the med-bay.

"You're energon levels may be back to where they need to be Bumblebee, but you still need to take it easy for a little while," the medic reminded. "It takes longer than four days to fully recover from being in stasis lock."

 _"I know Ratchet. Arcee already told me that I'm staying here at base for a while,"_ Bumblebee replied as he walked out of the med-bay, happy to finally be able to move around again. Whenever you were in the med-bay, it was practically guaranteed that Ratchet was going to force you to recharge the entire time so you wouldn't do anything that would make him have to repair you again.

Arcee and Bulkhead were on patrol and Raf was still at school, so Bumblebee decided to go watch some cartoons for a little while. He really wanted to talk to Optimus though, but he didn't want to bother him. The Autobot leader still hadn't regained any other memories and still didn't like to be called Optimus. It seemed to Bumblebee that he was spending most of his time in his room, away from the others. Bumblebee wasn't sure why Optimus was seemingly trying to avoid all of them – it confused him really. While even before he lost his memories Optimus had been rather distant, he never had outright avoided them before. Bumblebee was just about to go find Optimus and talk to him when he entered the room.

 _"Hi Optimus!"_ Bumblebee enthusiastically greeted.

"Hello Bumblebee," Orion replied, ignoring the fact that he was being called Optimus still. "Are you feeling better?"

 _"Yeah, I am. I'm still a little tired though,"_ Bumblebee admitted. It amazed him that after two days in stasis lock and two days of recharging, he could still be tired. He guessed it had something to with what Ratchet said about it taking more than four days to completely recover. _"What are you doing?"_

"Ratchet wanted me to come to the med-bay for a moment," Orion answered.

 _"Is he trying to find a way for you to get your memories back?"_ Bumblebee asked.

"I'm not sure, perhaps he is."

There was something in his tone right then that almost made Bumblebee think that he didn't want his memories back. But that didn't make any sense. Surely Optimus wanted to have his memories restored.

 _"You want your memories back, right?"_ he asked.

Orion pondered that for a moment. Did he want his lost memories back? While he was sure that it would be good to have them back, he was also almost afraid of what he would be remembering. There had to be some things that had happened in the past that he had forgotten that he wouldn't want to remember.

"I don't know," Orion admitted. "I suppose I do, but I don't know what I would be remembering. I imagine there are some things I wouldn't want to remember."

_"But there's probably a lot of stuff that you would want to remember though."_

"True," he replied. "I better not keep Ratchet waiting."

 _"Okay,"_ Bumblebee said as he watched Orion walk towards the med-bay.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm going to see if I can figure out a way for you to get your memories back," Ratchet explained after Orion had entered the med-bay. "In order to do that I need to find how exactly your memories were lost."

"How are you going to do that?"

"By doing a few scans for now. I'll see what I find from that before I do anything else."

It was close to an hour later when Ratchet finished. He frowned as he studied the results. According to them, there was absolutely no reason for Optimus/Orion's memory to be gone. Everything was functioning perfectly – no signs of damage or anything else that could have caused his amnesia.

"Orion, how much exactly have you remembered?" Ratchet asked.

"Not much. I remembered Bumblebee's name when he was captured by the Decepticons and a few other things, but that's it. Why do you ask?"

"Because according to my scans there is nothing causing your memory loss – there are no malfunctions or anything like that."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that without a cause, there is little possibility in me finding a solution. It's as if your former memories, for the most part, never existed."

"If that is the case, how was I able to remember the things I did?"

"That I do not know," Ratchet replied. "Perhaps eventually your memories will somehow return on their own, but I currently have no short term solution. I'm sorry."

"That's alright Ratchet," Orion said. In truth he was a bit relieved – he could just remain being Orion Pax. But then he thought of the other Autobots. They were expecting him to be Optimus Prime, their leader. Could he let them down like that? He had a lot of things to think about now, there no was no doubt about that.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as Ratchet had told Orion that he had informed the others that he had no way of restoring his memories, Orion left his room to go talk to a certain youngling. He had a feeling that Bumblebee was going to be very disappointed to learn that he most likely would not be regaining any memories on being Optimus Prime any time soon. When he noticed that the scout was not in his room, he started to search the base for him. This led him to where he was now – the storage room of the base.

"There you are," Orion said when he saw the yellow youngling sitting on the ground, door wings drooped slightly. "What are you doing in here?"

 _"Nothing,"_ Bumblebee replied. _"Just thinking."_

Bumblebee had headed straight to the storage room right after Ratchet had told them that he had no solution on getting Optimus' memories back and that they may in fact never completely come back. He had needed somewhere to think and the storage room was rarely visited, so he had went there instead of his room. Bumblebee was slightly worried that Optimus was going to think that he had lied to him before now. After all if he didn't have any memories of being Optimus and there was a great possibility that he would never get them back, what was to keep him from thinking that Bumblebee had lied to him about it all? And if he thought that Bumblebee had lied, what if he decided to leave the Autobots again?

"I take it that you are disappointed," Orion said, sitting down next to Bumblebee.

 _"Yes,"_ Bumblebee responded before blurting out, _"You're not going to leave are you?"_

Orion looked at Bumblebee in surprise, "Why would I leave?"

_"Because you might think that I was lying to you before about being Optimus and not trust me or the others."_

"I do not think that you lied to me and I am not going to leave," Orion replied. "I believe that you are telling the truth about me being Optimus Prime, even though I still have a hard time believing that I am a Prime."

_"You are a Prime."_

"Then I will try to be Optimus Prime. But I am also going to be Orion Pax."

_"Okay! Wait, what am I supposed to call you then? Optimus or Orion?"_

"Considering the fact that I believe that you are going to call me Optimus no matter what… you can call me Optimus."

_"Really!"_

Orion – no Optimus – had to let out a small chuckle at Bumblebee then. Even if he wasn't completely comfortable with being called that, he wasn't going to disappoint Bumblebee. Perhaps it would grow on him over time.

_"You may not have the memories that Optimus did, but you're still the same on the inside. You're still a good leader and I trust you with my life. We'll all still follow you no matter what."_

Bumblebee couldn't know how his words touched Optimus. He had been wondering that very thing. He didn't remember … what use was he to them now? He still felt like an outsider, but the Autobots were definitely growing on him. He suspected some familial feelings were growing. And maybe, just maybe, having some Orion left in him would make him an even better leader this time. To Bumblebee it didn't matter if Optimus didn't have his memories back. His family was together again, and they would make new ones.


End file.
